What changed in this filing

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Item 1. Business

2021-09-28 compared with 2020-09-29 · 173 added, 130 removed, 154 unchanged (66% of the section changed)

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Our Background

As a leading distributor of natural, organic, specialty, produce, and conventional grocery and non-food products, and provider of retailer services in the United States and Canada , we believe we are uniquely positioned to provide the broadest array of products and services to customers throughout North America.

We offer more than 275,000 products consisting of national, regional and private label brands grouped into six product categories:

As a leading distributor of natural, organic, specialty, produce and conventional grocery and non-food products, and provider of support services to retailers in the United States and Canada, we believe we are uniquely positioned to provide the broadest array of products and services to customers throughout North America.

We offer nearly 300,000 products consisting of national, regional and private label brands grouped into six product categories:

grocery and general merchandise;

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and personal care items.

Through our October 2018 acquisition of SUPERVALU INC.

(“Supervalu”), we are transforming into North America’s premier wholesaler with 55 distribution centers and warehouses representing approximately 29 million square feet of warehouse space.

We believe we are North America’s premier wholesaler with 57 distribution centers and warehouses representing approximately 30 million square feet of warehouse space.

We are a coast-to-coast distributor with customers in all fifty states as well as all ten provinces in Canada, making us a desirable partner for retailers and consumer product manufacturers.

We believe our total product assortment and service offerings are unmatched by our wholesale competitors.

We plan to aggressively pursue new business opportunities to independent retailers who operate diverse formats, regional and national chains, as well as international customers with wide-ranging needs.

During the fourth quarter of fiscal 2020, we determined we no longer met the held for sale criterion for a probable sale to be completed within 12 months for the Cub Foods business and the majority of the remaining Shoppers locations.

We reviewed our reportable segments and determined we were required to report Retail as a separate segment.

Our business is classified into two reportable segments:

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and also includes a manufacturing division and a branded product line division.

Our Strategic Priorities

We are committed to executing our Fuel the Future strategy and its six strategic priorities that we believe will contribute to our future success:

1) Fulfill Power in Scale .

Optimizing and maximizing the capacity of our far-reaching distribution network, simplifying operations with higher levels of standardization, and making investments in technology.

2) Unlock Customer Experience .

Expanding our portfolio of brands, products and services while offering more tailored solutions to help our customers grow.

3) Taste the Future .

Investing in existing, high-margin growth platforms such as Brands+, Services, eCommerce and Fresh, as well as developing new sources of revenue that further complement our core wholesale business.

4) UNFI Pride .

Focusing on our people to deliver on:

our core value of safety in the workplace, as well as continuing our unique culture and enhancing the overall associate experience;

embracing and growing diversity of background, thought, and approach;

and our bold commitment toward addressing climate change and food insecurity and injustice.

5) Retail Optimized .

Advancing the retail business through greater investment in store upgrades, eCommerce, and digital platforms combined with new sites that we expect will contribute to growth.

6) Earn Results .

Driving sustainable growth and stakeholder value, with the Fuel the Future plan helping deliver long-term financial results.

Through our Fuel the Future strategy, we are striving to make our customers stronger, our supply chain better, and our food solutions more inspired.

We believe that we have been able to broaden our geographic penetration, expand our customer base, enhance and diversify our product selections, increase our market share, increase operating efficiencies in existing facilities and open new facilities in part through the acquisition of SUPERVALU INC.

(“Supervalu”).

Our Commitment to Social and Environmental Responsibility

We Believe in Better for All

We are committed to being good stewards of our planet, our communities and our people through tangible action.

In early 2021, we launched Better for All, our environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) plan aligned to three pillars:

Building Better for Our World, Our Communities and Our People.

Better for All focuses on six key priorities:

climate action, waste reduction, food safety, food access, associate safety and wellbeing, and diversity and inclusion.

To ensure progress against each of these areas, UNFI has established goals and commitments, which are set forth in our 2020 ESG Report, available on our website at www.betterforall.unfi.com.

Our ESG Report and the contents of our Better For All webpage are not incorporated into this Annual Report.

Better for Our World

We continue to focus on reducing our environmental impact, conserving natural resources and promoting sustainability across our value chain and in our operations.

We invest in the efficiency of our transportation fleet and warehouses, generate on-site solar power for operations use and focus on diverting waste from landfills.

In early 2020, UNFI joined the Climate Collaborative, solidifying commitments to energy efficiency, food waste reduction and sustainable transportation.

This year, we joined the U.S.

Food Loss and Waste 2030 Champions–businesses and organizations that have made a public commitment to reduce food loss and waste in their operations in the United States by 50 percent by the year 2030.

We also added more than 53 solar-powered, all-electric refrigerated trailers to our California fleet.

As part of our Better For All campaign, we have committed to develop science-based emissions reduction targets to be submitted for approval to the Science Based Targets initiative.

These targets are being developed based on current climate science.

Better for Our Communities

We believe that freedom of food choice matters and we play a vital role in delivering safe, quality and nutritious food options to more tables across North America.

We are also working to increase access to better food, particularly for people in low-income and rural communities, or vulnerable situations, through monetary and in-kind donations, and operating retail stores in underserved areas.

Our 501(c)(3) nonprofit, the UNFI Foundation, provides grants to nonprofit organizations working to build better food systems and nurture everyday health.

We also encourage our associates to make a difference by volunteering their time in their communities.

The safety and well-being of our associates is a top priority.

We are working to increase access to better food, particularly for people in low-income and rural communities or vulnerable situations, through monetary and in-kind donations and operating retail stores in underserved areas.

The UNFI Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization, provides grants to nonprofit organizations working to build better food systems and nurture everyday health.

We also encourage our associates to make a difference by volunteering in their communities, including through paid volunteer time off.

Better for Our People

The safety and wellbeing of our associates is a top priority.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, we have quickly and continuously adopted and added safety measures to protect our associates and the communities we serve.

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we are continuously striving toward zero injuries and accidents.

We are also working to advance diversity, equity and inclusion in our workplace by creating and maintaining a culture of inclusion and empathy through open dialogue, effective associate training, and by honoring holidays and special events that speak to our associates’ identities.

Social and environmental responsibility is integral to our overall business strategy, and we believe these practices deliver significant value to our stakeholders, including our shareholders, associates, customers, suppliers and communities.

Our Strategic Priorities

We remain focused on five strategic priorities that we believe will contribute to our future success:

Foster a People-Driven Culture .

Embracing our core mission to transform the world of food and recognizing that our culture of safety and integrity is at the forefront of everything we do.

Financial Accountability .

Delivering on our financial commitments, driving performance to achieve financial targets.

We are focused on completing the integration of Supervalu into UNFI, realizing cost synergies, optimizing our distribution center network, driving cross-selling of products and services across our businesses and generating cash to pay down debt.

Execute on our Core Business .

Completing our Thrive2 initiative, our project to drive integrated work streams and standardized operating procedures, which provide better experiences for our customers, associates and suppliers and allow us to realize synergy benefits from simplification, pursuing additional operational efficiencies, and delivering food solutions.

Focus on Growth .

Building out the store through effectively cross-selling our entire portfolio of products and services, which provide differentiated solutions for our customers, and actively pursuing new customers.

Divest Retail .

Divesting our retail assets in a thoughtful and economic manner, a process which we believe may take up to an additional 24 months to be complete.

In recent years, our sales to existing and new customers have increased through:

the acquisition of natural and specialty products distributors and most recently the previously largest publicly traded conventional distributor, Supervalu;

the continued growth of the natural and organic products industry in general;

increased market share as a result of our high quality service and broader product selection, including specialty products;

the expansion of our existing distribution centers;

the construction of new distribution centers;

the introduction of new products and the development of our own line of natural, organic and conventional branded products.

Through these efforts, we believe that we have been able to broaden our geographic penetration, expand our customer base, enhance and diversify our product selections, increase our market share, increase operating efficiencies in existing facilities and open new facilities.

Our strategic plan includes increasing the type of products and services we provide to our customers, including perishable products and conventional produce to “build out the store” and cover center store, as well as perimeter offerings and private brands products, and providing services to additional customers, including marketing and e-commerce solutions.

Our Customers

We maintain long-standing relationships with our customers.

We maintain long-standing relationships with many of our customers.

We serve approximately 30,000 unique customer locations, primarily located across the United States and Canada, which we classify into five customer types:

• Chains , which consists of customer accounts that typically have more than 10 operating stores and exclude stores included within the Supernatural and Other channels defined below;

Independent retailers , which include smaller size accounts and include single store and multiple store locations, but are not classified within Chains above or Other discussed below ;

• Independent retailers , which include smaller size accounts and include single store and multiple store locations, and group purchasing entities, but are not classified within Chains above or Other discussed below;

• Supernatural , which consists of chain accounts that are national in scope and carry primarily natural products, and currently consists solely of Whole Foods Market;

Retail , which includes our Retail segment, including the Cub Foods business and the majority of the remaining Shoppers locations, excluding five Shoppers locations that are held for sale ;

Other , which includes international customers outside of Canada, foodservice, e-commerce, conventional military business and other sales .

In the fourth quarter of fiscal 2020, we recast our presentation of net sales by customer channel to be on a basis consistent with customer size, with international customers other than Canada and alternative format sales continuing to be classified within Other.

Refer to Part II, Item 7—Results of Operations of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for additional information.

We have been the primary distributor to Whole Foods Market for more than twenty years.

Under the terms of our agreement with Whole Foods Market, we serve as the primary distributor to Whole Foods Market in all of its regions in the United States.

Our agreement with Whole Foods Market expires on September 28, 2025.

• Retail , which reflects our Retail segment, including the Cub Foods business and the remaining Shoppers locations, excluding Shoppers locations that are held for sale within discontinued operations;

• Other , which includes international customers outside of Canada, foodservice, eCommerce, conventional military business and other sales.

We have been the primary distributor to Whole Foods Market for more than 20 years.

We continue to serve as the primary distributor to Whole Foods Market in all of its regions in the United States pursuant to an amended distribution agreement.

On March 3, 2021, we entered into an amendment to our distribution agreement dated October 30, 2015.

The amendment extended the term of the distribution agreement from September 28, 2025 to September 27, 2027.

Whole Foods Market is our only customer that represented more than 10% of total net sales in fiscal 2021.

Our customers include single and multiple store independent grocery store retailers, regional chains, foodservice and the military, many of which are long tenured customers.

The following were included among our wholesale customers for fiscal 2020 :

Whole Foods Market, the largest supernatural chain in the United States and Canada;

Cash and Carry Stores, The Fresh Market, Coborn’s, Natural Grocers, Jerry’s Foods, Vitamin Cottage, Festival Foods, All American Quality Foods, Ahold Delhaize banners (Giant-Carlisle, Stop & Shop, Giant-Landover, and Hannaford), Lunds & Byerlys, Superior Grocers, Vallarta Supermarkets, Wegmans, Raley’s, Redner’s Markets, Neiman’s Family Market, Dierberg’s, El Super Supermarkets, Sprouts Farmers Market, Kroger, Harris Teeter, Giant Eagle, Market Basket, Schnucks Shop-Rite, Publix, Raley’s and Loblaws.

Our Wholesale customers, among others, included the following for fiscal 2021:

• Whole Foods Market, a leading natural and organic food retailer in the United States and Canada;

• C ash and Carry Stores, The Fresh Market, Coborn’s, National Co+op Grocers, Jerry’s Foods, Natural Grocers, Festival Foods, All American Quality Foods, Ahold Delhaize banners (Giant-Carlisle, Stop & Shop, Giant-Landover, and Hannaford), Lunds & Byerlys, Superior Grocers, Vallarta Supermarkets, Wegmans, Raley’s, Redner’s Markets, Niemann Foods, Inc., Dierberg’s, El Super Supermarkets, Sprouts Farmers Market, Kroger, Harris Teeter, Giant Eagle, Market Basket, Schnucks, Shop-Rite, Publix, Amazon.com, Inc.

Our international net sales primarily reflect UNFI Canada, Inc.

(“UNFI Canada”) and exclude sales transacted in U.S.

dollars and shipped internationally, which is a smaller component of our business.

dollars and shipped internationally, which is an even smaller component of our business.

UNFI Canada represented approximately one percent of our net sales in fiscal 2021.

We believe that our sales outside the United States will expand as we seek to continue to grow our Canadian operations.

Recent Acquisitions

A key component of our business and growth strategy has been to acquire wholesalers differentiated by product offerings, service offerings and market area.

We continue to seek to grow our Canadian operations.

We also continue to invest in technology and systems with the intent of growing our eCommerce business.

This includes sales to eCommerce companies as well as business-to-business sales to non-traditional customers such as yoga studios or bakeries.

We recently launched Community Marketplace by UNFI, a business-to-business digital eCommerce solution for emerging brands looking to expand distribution with UNFI customers.

Through this virtual marketplace, suppliers gain immediate access to UNFI’s digital infrastructure to promote and sell their products to UNFI’s broad customer base while UNFI customers gain access to an even broader assortment of unique and local items with flexible order sizes and the convenience of ordering from multiple sources online in one place.

A key component of our historical growth has been to acquire distribution companies differentiated by product offerings, service offerings and market area.

We believe the expanded product and service offerings from these acquisitions has enhanced and will continue to enhance our ability to acquire new customers and present opportunities for cross-selling complementary product lines.

We believe that as a result of the Supervalu acquisition, we carry an unmatched product assortment that allows us to cross-sell natural products to conventional customers and conventional products to natural customers, all while reducing the number of weekly deliveries that each receives.

Supervalu provided a robust suite of services that are now available to our natural customer base, services necessary to run their business and that provide opportunities to simplify and focus on their operations.

We also believe the Supervalu acquisition provides additional scale to lower our overall costs.

Finally, we are now a coast-to-coast distributor with customers in all fifty states as well as all ten provinces in Canada, making us a desirable partner for consumer product manufacturers.

Our expanded scale and product assortment as a result of the Supervalu acquisition positioned us to continue to serve our customers and communities through the COVID-19 pandemic.

Our recent business acquisitions include:

On October 22, 2018 (the “Supervalu acquisition date”), we acquired Supervalu for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $2.3 billion, which included the assumption of outstanding debt and liabilities.

The acquisition of Supervalu accelerated our “build out the store” strategy, diversified our customer base, enabled cross-selling opportunities, expanded market reach and scale, enhanced technology, capacity and systems, and is expected to continue to deliver significant cost synergies and accelerate potential growth.

Haddon House.

In May 2016, we acquired Haddon House Food Products Inc.

(“Haddon”) and certain affiliated entities and real estate for total cash consideration of approximately $217.5 million .

Haddon is a distributor and merchandiser of natural and organic and gourmet ethnic products throughout the eastern United States.

Haddon has a diverse, multi-channel customer base including supermarkets, gourmet food stores and independent retailers.

Our acquisition of Haddon has expanded our gourmet and ethnic product and service offering which continues to play an important role in our ongoing strategy to build out these product categories.

Haddon’s operations have been combined with our existing business in the United States.

Nor-Cal Produce and Global Organics.

In March 2016, we acquired (i) Nor-Cal Produce, Inc.

(“Nor-Cal”) and an affiliated entity as well as certain real estate, in a cash transaction for approximately $67.8 million, and, (ii) certain assets of Global Organic/Specialty Source, Inc.

and related affiliates (collectively “Global Organic”) through our wholly owned subsidiary Albert’s Organics, Inc.

(“Albert’s”), in a cash transaction for approximately $20.6 million.

Nor-Cal is a distributor of conventional and organic produce and other fresh products primarily to independent retailers in Northern California, with primary operations located in West Sacramento, California.

Global Organic is a distributor of organic fruits, vegetables, juices, milk, eggs, nuts, and coffee located in Sarasota, Florida serving customer locations across the southeastern United States.

Supervalu provided a robust suite of services that are now available to our natural customer base, services necessary to run their businesses and that provide opportunities to simplify and focus on their operations.

We also believe the Supervalu acquisition provides additional scale to lower our overall costs as a percent of net sales.

Our expanded scale and product assortment as a result of the Supervalu acquisition uniquely positioned us to continue to serve our customers and communities through the volume demands across the full spectrum of grocery products experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic.

We organize and operate our Wholesale reportable segment through four U.S.

geographic regions:

Atlantic, South, Central and Pacific;

each of which is led by separate region presidents responsible for product and service strategy, execution, and financial results;

Atlantic, South, Central and Pacific, each of which is led by a separate regional president responsible for product and service strategy, execution and financial results;

and Canada Wholesale which is operated separately from the U.S.

Wholesale business.

Product and service categories include, grocery, fresh, wellness, private brands, e-commerce, food service and multi-cultural.

Product and service categories include, grocery, fresh, wellness, private brands, eCommerce, food service and multi-cultural.

This operating structure includes regional sales organizations and distribution center networks, which offer a combination of conventional and natural products to our customers as a consolidated supply solution.

Territory managers in these regions sell across our complete lines of products, which brings us to our customers more frequently with all of our service offerings allowing us to anticipate and identify sales opportunities that result from our customers having a single point of contact for all of our products and services.

Territory managers in these regions sell our complete lines of products, which allows us to anticipate and identify sales opportunities that result from our customers having a single point of contact for all of our products and services.

We have established a national network of strategically located distribution centers utilizing a multi-tiered logistics system.

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We optimize our facilities to implement leading warehouse technology, ranging from radio-frequency devices guiding selectors to mechanized facilities with completely automated order selection for dry groceries that help us deliver aisle-ready pallets to Wholesale customers.

Our Wholesale segment also focuses on improving our supply chain to achieve labor and cost efficiencies.

Deployment of continuous improvement methodologies within our supply chain is focused on delivering labor and cost efficiencies while also improving our ability to more effectively service our customers.

To maintain our market position and improve our operating efficiencies, we seek to continually:

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• expand our national purchasing opportunities;

offer a broader product selection than our competitors;

• offer a broader product and value add service selection than our competitors;

• offer operational excellence with high service levels and a higher percentage of on-time deliveries than our competitors;

centralize general and administrative functions to reduce expenses;

• centralize and streamline general and administrative functions to reduce expenses;

• consolidate systems applications among physical locations and regions;

• invest in our people, facilities, equipment and technology.

reduce the geographic overlap between regions.

We maintain contracts with suppliers to procure their products.

Our procurement process includes assessments of demand planning, pricing, seasonality and other factors.

Inventory costs are determined when products are procured, and include vendor funds received and inbound freight, among other items.

The gross margins we earn on sales to our customers are typically based on a percentage mark-up, or fee, on top of vendor listed base cost, which vary by customer, product type, vendor size, volume throughput, transportation methods and distances, among other factors.

Net sales to customers are determined at the time of sale based on the then prevailing vendor listed base cost, and include discounts we offer to our customers.

The differential between the procured cost, including vendor funds and inbound freight, as compared to the net sales price of these products, generate our gross margin.

Our Retail segment includes 74 Cub Foods and Shoppers retail grocery stores.

Our Retail stores provide an extensive grocery offering and, depending on size, a variety of additional products, including general merchandise, home, health and beauty care, and pharmacy.

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We believe our Retail banners have strong local and regional brand recognition in the markets in which they operate.

Our Retail continuing operations are supplied by our distribution centers, which also supply our Wholesale customers.

Our Retail segment includes 71 Cub Foods and Shoppers retail grocery stores acquired in the Supervalu acquisition.

Prior to the fourth quarter of fiscal 2020 and since the Supervalu acquisition, we had presented these stores within discontinued operations.

As a result, our Consolidated Financial Statements and financial information presented within this Annual Report on Form 10-K reflect the Retail segment operations of Cub Foods and certain Shoppers stores within continuing operations, with prior periods having been revised to conform with the current period presentation.

Throughout this Annual Report on Form 10-K references to Retail exclude previously disposed Shoppers stores, five Shoppers stores that are held for sale, and the Hornbacher’s, Shop ‘n Save and Shop ‘n Save East retail banners, all of which we acquired as a result of the Supervalu acquisition and previously disposed.

The results of these businesses continue to be presented as discontinued operations.

Our Retail continuing operations are supplied by our Wholesale distribution centers.

In the fourth quarter of fiscal 2021, we determined that two of the four remaining Shoppers stores in discontinued operations no longer met the held for sale criterion for a probable sale to be completed within 12 months.

As a result, our Consolidated Financial Statements and financial information presented within this Annual Report reflect these two stores within the Retail segment operations within continuing operations, with prior periods having been revised to conform with the current period presentation.

Throughout this Annual Report, references to Retail exclude previously disposed Shoppers stores, two Shoppers stores that are held for sale, as well as the Hornbacher’s, Shop ‘n Save and Shop ‘n Save East retail banners, which we acquired as a result of the Supervalu acquisition and previously disposed.

For the periods in which we operated these stores, their results continue to be presented as discontinued operations.

Our Products and Services

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and personal care items.

Our private-label products include:

the premium brand CULINARY CIRCLE®, which offers premium quality products in highly competitive categories;

WILD HARVEST® and Field Day®, which include organic, non-GMO and items free from over 140 undesirable ingredients;

core brands ESSENTIAL EVERYDAY®, EQUALINE®, SPRINGFIELD®, and category-specific brands ARCTIC SHORES SEAFOOD COMPANY®, BABY BASICS®, STONE RIDGE CREAMERY® and SUPER CHILL®, which provide national brand equivalent products at a competitive price;

and the value brand SHOPPERS VALUE®, which offers the budget conscious consumer quality alternatives to national brands at substantial savings.

Our owned brands portfolio is a collection of brands that offer high quality solutions for private label to our customers.

ESSENTIAL EVERYDAY® is our leading national brand equivalent private label solution with 2,500+ items for departments throughout the store.

It is complimented by SPRINGFIELD® as a regional solution and SHOPPERS VALUE®, which offers the budget conscious consumer quality alternatives to national brand.

Our WILD HARVEST® brand offers a full range of products made with simple, wholesome ingredients across multiple categories, including pet foods.

Our Field Day® brand is primarily sold to natural store / co-op retailers as a private label solution.

Our category-specific brands, EQUALINE®, CULINARY CIRCLE®, ARCTIC SHORES SEAFOOD COMPANY®, BABY BASICS®, STONE RIDGE CREAMERY® and SUPER CHILL®, also provide national brand equivalent products at a competitive price.

Manufacturing and Natural Branded Products Businesses

Our Blue Marble Brands portfolio is a collection of 16 organic, non-GMO, clean and specialty food brands representing more than 700 unique retail and food service products sourced from 29 countries around the globe.

Blue Marble Brands defines clean ingredients to be minimally processed foods, using only essential ingredients that contain no artificial colors or flavors.

Our Blue Marble Brands products are sold through our Wholesale segment, third-party distributors and directly to retailers.

Our Field Day® brand is primarily sold to customers in our independent channel and is meant to serve as a private label brand for retailers to allow them to compete with supermarket and supernatural chains which often have their own private label store brands.

Our Blue Marble Brands portfolio is a collection of national brands that offer organic, non-GMO, clean and specialty food.

The WOODSTOCK® brand has been pioneering organic/non-GMO products for over 34 years and continues to launch innovation.

TUMARO’S is our better for you wrap brand.

MT.VIKOS®, KOYO®, ASIAN GOURMET®, MEDITERRANEAN ORGANIC®, and NATURAL SEA® are all niche specialty brands ranging from imported Greek feta cheese to organic Ramen.

Our subsidiary doing business as Woodstock Farms Manufacturing specializes in importing, roasting, packaging and distributing nuts, dried fruit, seeds, trail mixes, granola, natural and organic snack items and confections for our customers and in the Company’s branded products.

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These services include pass-through programs in which vendors provide services directly to our Wholesale customers, as well as services and solutions we develop and provide directly.

Our services include retail store support, advertising, couponing, e-commerce, network and data hosting solutions, and administrative back-office solutions.

Our services include retail store support, pricing strategy, shelf and planogram management, advertising, couponing, eCommerce, consumer convenience services, store design, equipment sourcing, electronic payments processing, network and data hosting solutions, and administrative back-office solutions.

The sales and operating results for these services are included within Wholesale.

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• Truck advertising programs allow our suppliers to purchase advertising space on the sides of our hundreds of trailers traveling throughout the United States and Canada, increasing brand exposure to consumers.

Web and digital marketing services including websites, mobile applications, and e-commerce capabilities.

• Web and digital marketing services including websites, mobile applications and eCommerce capabilities.

Trade Marketing Programs

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Supplier Marketing Programs

• Efficient Supplier Agreement is a customized supplier relationship program designed to address key needs of a select group of suppliers.

• ClearVue®, an information sharing program offered to a select group of suppliers designed to improve the transparency of information and drive efficiency within the supply chain.

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• Growth incentive programs, supplier-focused high-level sales and marketing support for selected brands, which foster our partnership by building incremental, mutually profitable sales for suppliers and us.

Periodically, we conduct focus group sessions with certain key retailers and suppliers to ascertain their needs and allow us to better service them.

• Various marketing vehicles are offered that support the needs of our diverse customer base, while providing suppliers a cost effective means to market and promote their products.

We continually seek customer and supplier feedback to ascertain their needs and allow us to better service them.

We also provide our customers with:

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• planogramming, shelf and category management support;

in-store signage and promotional materials, and assistance with planning and setting up product displays;

• in-store signage and promotional materials, and assistance with product display planning and set up;

• shelf tags for products;

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Organic Certification

Our “Certified Organic Distributor” certification covers all of our natural distribution centers in the United States, except for facilities acquired in connection with the acquisitions of Tony’s, Haddon, and Nor-Cal.

Although not designated as a “Certified Organic Distributor” by QAI, the three Tony’s California locations are certified as Organic by the State of California Department of Public Health Food and Drug Branch, and Nor-Cal is currently registered with the California Department of Food and Agriculture Organic Program as an organic handler.

In addition, our three Canadian distribution centers in British Columbia and Ontario each hold one of the following organic distributor certifications:

QAI, EcoCert Canada or ProCert Canada.

Our “Certified Organic Distributor” certification covers 30 of our natural distribution centers in the United States, except for facilities acquired in connection with the acquisitions of Tony’s, Haddon, and Nor-Cal.

Although not designated as a “Certified Organic Distributor” by QAI, the two Tony’s California locations are certified as Organic by the State of California Department of Public Health Food and Drug Branch, and Nor-Cal is currently registered with the California Department of Food and Agriculture Organic Program as an organic handler.

In addition, our four Canadian distribution centers in British Columbia and Ontario each hold an organic distributor certification from either QAI or ProCert Canada.

We maintain a comprehensive quality assurance program.

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Most potential suppliers of organic products are required to provide such third-party certifications to us before they are approved as suppliers.

Working Capital

Normal operating fluctuations in working capital balances can result in changes to cash flow from operations presented in our Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows that are not necessarily indicative of long-term operating trends.

Our working capital needs are generally greater during the months leading up to high sales periods, such as the build up in inventory during the time period leading to the calendar year-end holidays.

We typically finance these working capital needs with funds provided by operating activities and available credit through our revolving credit facility.

In fiscal 2020, we experienced significant changes in our inventory, accounts payable and accounts receivable as a result of the customer behavior responses to the spread of COVID-19 and economic impacts in the second half of fiscal 2020.

Our working capital levels have since stabilized to meet the higher levels of demand, and we expect our working capital to fluctuate with any macroeconomic impacts and changes in food-at-home purchasing levels.

Our Suppliers

We purchase our products from more than 11,000 suppliers.

The majority of our suppliers are based in the United States and Canada, but we also source products from suppliers throughout Europe, Asia, Central America, South America, Africa and Australia.

We believe suppliers of conventional, natural and organic products seek to distribute their products through us because we provide access to a large customer base across the United States and Canada, distribute the majority of the suppliers’ products and offer a wide variety of marketing programs to our customers to help sell the suppliers’ products.

We purchase our products from nearly 12,000 suppliers.

The majority of our suppliers are based in the United States and Canada, but we also source products from suppliers throughout Europe, Asia, North America, South America, Australia and New Zealand.

We believe suppliers seek to distribute their products through us because we provide access to a large customer base across the United States and Canada, distribute the majority of the suppliers’ products and offer a wide variety of marketing programs to our customers to help sell the suppliers’ products.

Substantially all product categories that we distribute are available from a number of suppliers and, therefore, we are not dependent on any single source of supply for any product category.

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Our Distribution Systems

The sites for our distribution centers are chosen to provide direct access to our regional markets.

We select the sites for our distribution centers to provide direct access to the markets we serve and configure them to minimize total operating costs.

This proximity allows us to reduce our transportation costs relative to those of our competitors that seek to service these customers from locations that are often much further away.

We believe that we incur lower inbound freight expense than our regional competitors because our scale allows us to buy full and partial truckloads of products.

Products are delivered to our distribution centers primarily by our fleet of leased trucks, contract carriers and the suppliers themselves.

When financially advantageous, we pick up product from suppliers or satellite staging facilities and return it to our distribution centers using our own trucks.

Products are delivered to our distribution centers primarily by our fleet of leased and owned trucks, contract carriers and the suppliers themselves.

When financially advantageous, we pick up products from suppliers or satellite staging facilities and return them to our distribution centers using our own trucks.

Additionally, we generally can redistribute overstocks and inventory imbalances between our distribution centers if needed, which helps to reduce out-of-stocks and to sell perishable products prior to their expiration date.

The majority of our trucks are leased from a variety of national banks and are maintained by third-party national leasing companies, which in some cases maintain facilities on our premises for the maintenance and service of these vehicles.

The majority of our trucks are leased and are maintained by third-party national leasing companies, which in some cases maintain facilities on our premises for the maintenance and service of these vehicles.

We also have facilities where we operate our own maintenance shops.

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We continually evaluate and upgrade our management information systems at our regional operations in an effort to make the systems more efficient, cost-effective and responsive to customer needs.

These systems include functionality in radio frequency inventory control, pick-to-voice systems, pick-to-light systems, computer-assisted order processing and slot locater/retrieval assignment systems.

At most of our receiving docks, warehouse associates attach computer-generated, preprinted locater tags to inbound products.

At most of our receiving docks, warehouse associates attach computer-generated, preprinted locator tags to inbound products.

These tags contain the expiration date, locations, quantity, lot number and other information about the products in bar code format.

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In addition, we utilize route efficiency software that assists us in developing the most efficient routes for our outbound trucks.

As part of our “one company” approach, we are in the process of converting to a single national warehouse management and procurement system to integrate our existing facilities, including acquired Supervalu facilities, onto one nationalized platform across the organization.

As part of our “one company” approach, we are in the process of converting to a single national warehouse management and procurement system to integrate our existing facilities onto one nationalized platform across the organization.

We continue to focus on the automation of our new or expanded distribution centers that are at different stages of construction and implementation.

These steps and others are intended to promote operational efficiencies and improve operating expenses as a percentage of net sales.

The food distribution industry and the retail food industry are highly competitive.

Our largest competition comes from direct distribution, whereby a customer reaches a product volume level that justifies distribution directly from the manufacturer in order to obtain a lower price.

We compete on the basis of price, quality, assortment, schedule and reliability of deliveries and services, value-added services, service fees and distribution facility locations.

We compete in the United States and Canada with numerous national, regional, and local distributors of grocery and non-grocery consumable products.

We also face indirect competition through our customers and direct competition in our retail stores from alternative methods of food distribution, such as internet-based retailers, non-traditional retailers, discount supermarket chains, supercenters, membership warehouse clubs, dollar stores and meal-delivery services.

The strategic acquisition of Supervalu provided us with greater scale, a broader product assortment, and a suite of professional services that enhance our ability to compete.

Our Wholesale and Retail businesses operate in a highly competitive industry, which typically results in low profit margins for the industry.

Our food distribution business directly competes with many traditional and specialty grocery wholesalers and retailers that maintain or develop self-distribution systems for the business of independent grocery retailers.

We also increasingly compete with deep discount retailers, limited assortment stores and wholesale membership clubs.

The primary competitive factors in the Wholesale business include price, service level, product quality, variety and other value-added services.

In recent years consolidation within the grocery industry has resulted in, and is expected to continue to result in, increased competition, including from some competitors that have greater financial, marketing and other resources than us.

Independent retailers and smaller Chain customers represent a significant portion of our business and face intense competition from supercenters, deep discounters, mass merchandisers and rapidly growing alternative retail channels, such as dollar stores, discount supermarket chains, Internet-based retailers and meal-delivery services.

Our retail banners compete with traditional grocery stores, supercenters, deep discounters, mass merchandisers, limited assortment stores, and eCommerce providers.

The principal competitive factors in grocery retail include the location and image of the store;

the price, quality, and variety of the fresh offering;

and the quality, convenience, and consistency of service.

Strategies to react to competition vary based on many factors, such as the competitor’s format, strengths, weaknesses, pricing, and sales focus.

Our retail stores have continued to respond to growing competition from online and non-traditional retailers by adding options and services such as online ordering, curbside pick-up, and home delivery.

Government Regulation

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Such matters as weight and dimension of equipment are also subject to federal and state regulations.

Many of our facilities in the United States and in Canada are subject to various environmental protection statutes and regulations, including those relating to the use of water resources and the discharge of wastewater.

Our facilities are subject to regulations issued pursuant to the U.S.

Occupational Safety and Health Act by the U.S.

Department of Labor and similar regulations by state agencies.

These regulations require us to comply with certain health and safety standards to protect our employees from recognized hazards.

We are also subject to the National Labor Relations Act, which provides employees the right to organize and bargain collectively with their employer and to engage in other protected concerted activity.

Our facilities in the United States and in Canada are subject to various environmental protection statutes and regulations, including those relating to the use of water resources and the discharge of wastewater.

Further, many of our distribution facilities have ammonia-based refrigeration systems and tanks for the storage of diesel fuel, hydrogen fuel and other petroleum products which are subject to laws regulating such systems and storage tanks.

Moreover, in some of our facilities we, or third parties with whom we contract, perform vehicle maintenance.

Our policy is to comply with all applicable environmental and safety legal requirements.

We are subject to other federal, state, provincial and local provisions relating to the protection of the environment or the discharge of materials;

however, these provisions do not materially impact the use or operation of our facilities.

As of August 1, 2020 , we had approximately 28,300 full and part-time employees within continuing operations, 11,800 of whom (approximately 42% ) are covered by 51 collective bargaining agreements, including agreements under renegotiation.

Our policy is to comply with all applicable federal, state, provincial and local provisions relating to the protection of the environment or the discharge of materials.

Our international business operations are subject to various laws and regulations regarding the import and export of products and preventing corruption and bribery (including the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act).

We have implemented and continue to develop robust import/export and anti-corruption compliance programs and processes to comply with applicable laws and regulations governing our international business activities.

Human Capital Management

Our employees are critical to supporting our values and achieving our strategic vision.

Through our UNFI Pride strategic pillar, we are striving to be an employer of choice.

We are focused on associate engagement, empowerment and safety that allow for innovation and bringing best-in-class solutions to our customers and suppliers in an ever changing retail landscape, including new ways of work scheduling and productivity investments.

In Fiscal 2021, we created Compensation Committee oversight for human capital management matters with a focus on associate wellbeing across a variety of measures.

As of July 31, 2021, we had approximately 28,300 full and part-time employees within continuing operations, 11,000 of whom (approximately 39%) are covered by 48 collective bargaining agreements, including agreements under renegotiation.

We have in the past been the focus of union-organizing efforts, and we believe it is likely that we will be the focus of similar efforts in the future.

Developing Talent

Attracting and retaining talent is one of our top priorities.

Our goal is to differentiate ourselves in the market by offering unprecedented flexibility to associates in the way, and when and how they work.

To reduce turnover, we have an emphasized focus on and commitment to our associates, their experiences as well as their continued engagement.

We are committed to the continued support and development of our associates and provide access to robust leadership development programming, role-based training and other career development opportunities at every stage of an associate’s tenure with us.

Designed to enhance the leadership capabilities of our people, the Emerge program for front-line leaders and the Evolve program for our mid-level managers invite participants from all departments to come together to learn and practice their management skills and identify opportunities to lead more effectively.

The Elevate program for Director-level and above associates, as well as the Operations Leadership Academy for leaders in our distribution centers, work to solidify our talent pipeline and promote the success of the organization’s future leaders.

In addition, we partner with key groups within the organization, such as Sales and Risk & Safety, to develop role-based training to drive greater productivity and safety.

We also offer associates additional learning and career development opportunities that extend from skills-based training deployed electronically through our BetterU learning system, to mentorship programs and career development discussions and beyond.

Compensation and Benefits

Our compensation and benefits programs are designed to promote a culture of wellbeing and recognize our associates for their outstanding achievements and dedication to serving our customers and keeping them safe during even the most challenging of times.

We are committed to offering market competitive pay programs which reward high levels of performance, and behaviors that challenge convention and drive company success.

Our short-term incentive programs model the Company’s financial goals and are intended to align our eligible associates’ rewards with our financial success.

Long-term incentives, including restricted stock units and performance awards, are designed to attract and retain innovative leaders and align their financial interests with that of our shareholders and other stakeholders.

As part of our commitment to recognize our associates’ “whole self” – health, finances and overall wellbeing – we offer a comprehensive health and welfare benefit program to eligible associates providing a variety of medical, dental and vision options plus additional voluntary benefits like long-term disability and optional life insurance.

Additionally, we provide to eligible associates a leading edge, no-cost wellness program, paid time off programs including paid parental leave, an employee assistance program, 401(k) plan, and a back-up childcare program.

Diversity and Inclusion

We pledge to promote equity, celebrate diversity, dismantle systemic racism, and support justice and inclusion for all.

Our Board of Directors is diverse in gender and ethnic background, as well as having a broad range of experience, four out of ten directors are female, with two members identifying as African American and one member identifying as LGBTQ+.

We recognize that innovation thrives when there is unity and respect for diverse backgrounds and perspectives.

Additionally, we aim to foster a culture of belonging, equity and empathy through open dialogues, educational opportunities and by honoring the experiences and special events that speak to our associates’ many identities.

We built a diversity and inclusion team and created a diversity and inclusion strategy based on research, best practices and leadership commitment.

This strategy included hiring a Vice President of Diversity and Inclusion and establishing a diversity council which has taken an active role in advocating for and celebrating diversity and inclusion, as well as overseeing belonging and innovation groups.

We provided helpful diversity and inclusion information on our associate platforms including diversity and inclusion training.

Additionally, we launched UCount, a campaign to encourage associates to self-identify and rolled out Real Talk, a series of conversations on various dimensions of diversity.

Creating a Safe Environment

Safety is at the forefront of everything we do.

We continue to focus on the safety of our associates, customers and communities through the COVID-19 pandemic, with enhanced sanitation and increased safety measures.

We also have invested in several initiatives, including the development and implementation of a new safety brand and pledge, Every Moment Matters, that is designed to foster a caring culture, the implementation of interactive and proven training programs, which are rolled out across our network, and enhanced safety auditing.

Safety is one of our core values and a part of our Pride strategic pillar as we strive for zero injuries.

Generally, we do not experience any material seasonality.

However, our sales and operating results may vary significantly from quarter to quarter due to factors such as changes in our operating expenses, management’s ability to execute our operating and growth strategies, demand for our products, supply shortages and general economic conditions.

Our working capital needs are generally greater during the months leading up to high sales periods, such as the build up in inventory during the time period leading to the calendar year-end holidays.

Our inventory, accounts payable and accounts receivable levels may be impacted by macroeconomic impacts and changes in food-at-home purchasing rates.

These effects can result in normal operating fluctuations in working capital balances, which in turn can result in changes to cash flow from operations that are not necessarily indicative of long-term operating trends.

Available Information

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Compared sentence by sentence after normalising whitespace, quotation marks, case and digits, so re-formatting and restated figures do not read as changed language. Wording changes appear as one removal and one addition. The current filing and the prior one are authoritative.

What changed 10-K

Item 1. Business